The 14th day of the 9th month of the year of Emergence

Talk about small business being vulnerable!

This man is a Chesapeake Bay Waterman, or commercial fisherman.  Seen here he is readying crab pots for distribution  in the bay.  The boat in the foreground is actually a Tangier Island boat from Virginia while the background is Smith Island in Maryland.  Both islands are accessible only by boat from the mainland.

While the rest of we small business must worry about product, creativity, employees, taxes, and government intrusion  (control) these people must also worry about the acts of God things called Nature.  They are constantly battling weather, long hours, and a production that is limited by not only their own energy but natural propagation of the species for which they fish.  Throw on top of that about $100,000 worth of equipment and a gas cost that would choke a sheik----so it's no wonder crab prices at retail could reach $200 a bushel.   So a tough job.